It's been and gone. Sort of sorry to see it past. But what happened...
Well there was the children's Christmas party to start with. A couple of hours of feeding the wee folk sugar and artificial colouring, while the parents looked on. It was a good fun gathering, and was surprisingly popular. The kids had a good time, and I was impressed at the amount of Christmas jumpers that were on display.
Then, immediately after the party we had the Christingle service. Now I had never been to one of these before, so my first time being at one was in giving the Christingle talk. I had read up on them beforehand, and I will have to admit that I didn't like the idea of the whole service. I know that we use illustrations and other visual clues to explain the message through the year, but there was something about the idea of the orange and the candle that felt a little forced to me. Also, when we have a collecting basket for the foodbank in the hallway, I'm reluctant to use foodstuffs in a service if there's a chance it will go to waste. I am in two minds about whether I would agree to be part of such a service again, although if it is something that brings people a little closer to the Christmas message, in a new and refreshing way, then it is a good thing. Although for a couple of the children present, they would have been happy if we had just given them the candles and flames to play with.
Sunday there was a nativity play during the service. Away in a manger is always cute when the children sing it. Children were a little hyper, but they were enjoying the message, and the older folk liked seeing the younger members enjoying playing an active part in the service. It's not a day for heavy theology, just simple messages in bite sized chunks that the children can enjoy.
At this point in the proceedings, both Mrs G and myself were nursing a pretty bad cold, so we were relying on cough sweets to get us through. Watch Night was struggled through, and I mimed most of my singing, in order to preserve my voice. Turnout was good, and there was a genuine Christmassy,feeling of expectation for Christmas morning. It wasn't a large gathering, but it was a friendly, spiritual one.
After a token visit to my house to sleep, it was back out for Christmas morning. Toys everywhere, and children running around was a sharp contrast to the slightly more formal service that this church is used to. It made being heard a bit more challenging, but my voice survived. Again, not a time for heavy weight theology in the message, but instead, a need to keep everyone interested. Halfway through the lords prayer, my supervisor was interupted by "To infinity and beyond!" from the cheap seats. Someone had brought their Buzz lightyear toy. Awesome!
Then it was back to the house to flop. Christmas made for a tiring couple of days, but at least it happened away from the weekend, where, had Christmas fallen on a Saturday, I would have had three days of worship to undertake. This season has been an easy introduction to Christmas worship.
In theory, the next time I encounter Christmas, I may be a real minister...
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